NO. 23 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (0-0) vs.
MSU-BILLINGS (0-0)
Friday, October 30 – 11 a.m. PST / 1 p.m. CT
Nicholson Arena – Ellensburg, Washington
 
TIPOFF
Lubbock Christian University will open the 2026-27 season this weekend, playing three games at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic, hosted by Central Washington. The Chaparrals open the season Friday against MSU-Billings. They will take on Western Washington on Saturday and wrap up the weekend against the host team on Sunday. Cal State San Bernadino and Chico State will also be at the invitational. The October 30 start day is the earliest for a Chaparral season since 2009, when they took on Hillsdale Free Will Baptist (Randall) on October 30 to start the season.  
 
LEADING THE CHARGE
Back to lead the Chaparrals for an 16th straight season is head coach Todd Duncan. The seventh coach in program history, Duncan took over starting with the 2011-12 season. Prior to that, he spent 15 successful years as the head boys basketball coach and athletic director at Trinity Christian H.S. In his 15 prior seasons, Duncan has built a record of 296-149 and led the program to the NCAA Tournament eight times in the 11 seasons they have been eligible. Duncan is joined by Jason Imes, who has been his assistant for all 15 seasons. Two new graduate assistants are with the team – Jackson Cecil and Lane Dollar – and Athan Narvais is back as a student assistant for a second-straight year.  
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
Lubbock Christian enters the season ranked No. 23 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll. The Chaparrals spent every week of the 2025-26 season in the national rankings, reaching as high as No. 4 and ending the season at No. 14. Nova Southeastern is the No. 1 team in the nation entering the year, with defending national champion Gannon at No. 3. Two other LSC teams are in the poll, including Dallas Baptist at No. 5 and Eastern New Mexico at No. 16. LCU was also receiving votes in the FloCollege D2 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.
 
GUESS WHO'S BACK
The Chaps return just three players from last year's NCAA Tournament team, including Leo Nordberg, Reagan Fiedler and Jett McCasland. Nordberg played in all 33 games last year, starting 16 times. He averaged 4.8 points per game and dished out exactly 100 assists. Fielder played in 24 games, shooting 44.7 percent from the field before his season was cut short due to injury. McCasland, who was a freshman last year, saw limited playing time off the bench, but shot 41.2 percent from behind the arc and scored in double-figures twice.
 
FRESH FACES
The other 10 players on the team are all brand new to LCU. Six of those newbies are transfers and four are freshmen. The transfer class includes four players who previously played at other Division II schools. Dallas Jones came to the Chaps from Anderson. Rylan Houck transferred from Carson-Newman, but previously played at Division I Lipscomb. Both Brendan Ballard and Hayden Abdullah actually played against the Chaps in games last year, transferring from West Texas A&M and West Liberty, respectively. The other two transfers – Charlie Onana and Devin Whitten – came from junior colleges. The freshman class includes Luke Modersohn, Tookie Johnson, DeAndre Lott and Jonathan Lungeni.
 
LOOKING BACK
Lubbock Christian finished the 2025-26 season with a 27-6 overall record, matching the program record for wins in a season. The Chaps posted a 17-3 league record, finishing third in the conference. For the second-straight season, the LSC Player of the Year was a Chap, as Amondo Miller Jr. claimed the award. He was also named the South Central Region Player of the Year and an NABC All-American. LCU also had the league's Newcomer of the Year in Antonio Pusateri, along with two other All-Conference selections. The Chaps reached the NCAA postseason for the eighth time in program history and sixth straight season.
 
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
In the LSC Preseason Poll, which is voted on by coaches, sports information directors and media members throughout the league, Lubbock Christian was picked to finish third. Lubbock Christian drew 735 points in the poll and garnered two first place votes. This is the second-straight season that they have been picked to finish third. The LSC also released a list of Preseason Players to Watch, which included senior Chaparral guard Leo Nordberg. Reigning champion Dallas Baptist was picked to three-peat as LSC Champion with 841 points and 35 first place votes. The LSC Preseason Player of the Year is Miles Gibson from Oklahoma Christian. 
 
THE SERIES WITH THE YELLOWJACKETS
Lubbock Christian and MSU-Billings have faced off only one time in the history of the two programs, with the Yellowjackets coming away victorious. The game was in 2024 at the Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas, and MSUB won 82-69. Ethan Duncan led the Chaps with 29 points, but LCU shot below 40 percent as a team.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE VIKINGS
LCU and WWU have also only met on the hardwood in Las Vegas, but they have played twice and the Chaps have won both meetings. In 2021, the game against the Vikings featured 15 lead changes, but ended with LCU ahead 84-74 behind 20-point performances from Parker Hicks and Lloyd Daniels. When they met again in 2024, Sean Murphy scored 20 points and the Chaps shot 51.7 percent in the win.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE REDWOLVES
This will be the inaugural meeting between Lubbock Central and Central Washington.